Owners, NFLPA can’t agree if they’re discussing disciplinary changes or not
Following a season that began with a not-so-stringent two-game ban of former Ravens running back Ray Rice and ended with an over-the-top deflate-gate punishment of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision-making has naturally been a hot topic around water coolers.
If Art Rooney II is to be believed, that discussion has gone from locker room to boardroom. The Steelers owner told The Washington Post the NFL has opened dialogue with the NFL Players’ Association, holding “informal discussions” about the possibility of limiting Goodell’s power with respect to player discipline.
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As has been the case with almost everything the NFL has announced over the past year, Rooney’s revelation does not come without controversy. Within hours of Rooney’s comments going public, Bengals tackle and NFLPA president Eric Winston denied any discussion — formal or informal — taking place.
Serving as judge, jury and executioner during both the initial hearing and ensuing appeal process, Goodell currently has absolute power over the league’s personal conduct policy and matters concerning the “integrity of the game.” The NFLPA would like to see those issues handled by a neutral arbitrator.
Don’t expect to see a change in the near future, if only because the owners would attempt to leverage something from the NFLPA in exchange for knocking Goodell down a peg. The Washington Post cited an expanded regular-season or playoff schedule as a potential negotiating tactic. “I can’t tell you what the package might end up being, X for Y,” Rooney told the paper. “But I think all of them will be discussed.”
Rooney, a member of the ownership group’s bargaining committee, elaborated further:
“I don’t get a sense from anyone on the committee that the reaction to Judge Berman’s decision should be a need to rush into major changes in the disciplinary system,” Rooney said. “We’ve expressed a willingness to discuss that with the union. But if it is going to come in the context of an extension of the collective bargaining agreement, it will probably be like everything else that involves discussions with the union. It will probably be a long process. I don’t think the timing of it will be soon. I don’t think it will be by the end of the season.”
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“I think it will be a broad discussion,” Rooney said. “They [the players and union] want some significant changes. They’ve mentioned what they want to do about arbitration. Obviously if we get into a discussion about extending the collective bargaining agreement, there are a lot of issues that will come up. The disciplinary process will be a significant part of it. Economics will come up, the economics of the CBA and whether we should tweak anything.”
The current collective bargaining agreement extends until 2020, so even informal discussions would be a sign NFL owners are taking the NFLPA’s concerns about the disciplinary process seriously, especially after the league suffered another defeat in federal court. Even if the discussion hasn’t quite begun, owners have made several recent hints about their willingness to broach the matter with the NFLPA.
One owner anonymously told The Washington Post, “there will certainly be discussion” about Goodell’s role in disciplinary matters. Falcons owner Arthur Blank conceded to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “change may be appropriate.” And Goodell himself admitted in an interview with ESPN Radio that he’d be open to a restructured role. Rooney’s comments are the latest leading us to believe the NFL might actually be open to admitting a mistake, but Winston’s denial calls into question the league’s real motive.
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Even Rooney admits that “informal discussions” would offer no timetable for an agreement. That’s especially the case when owners may be asking to trade more games for neutral arbitration. In other words, in exchange for their due process, the NFL would like to increase its players’ injury risk.
Whaddya say, NFLPA?
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
